Sam Thompson has declared he won’t be proposing to his girlfriend Zara McDermott anytime soon, saying ‘we’ve got the rest of our lives to be boring’.
The Made In Chelsea star, 28, said he is ‘wary’ about how old Zara, 23, is and admitted he ‘doesn’t want to tie things down just yet’ – despite being on the receiving end of ‘so much pressure’ about when he’ll pop the question.
The TV personality explained in an exclusive interview with MailOnline while a lot of his reality television contemporaries rush into marriage, he feels ‘petrified’ of doing things by other people’s timelines.
Patience: Sam Thompson has revealed he doesn’t want to get married to his girlfriend Zara McDermott anytime soon (pictured together last month)
Sam and Love Island star Zara went public with their relationship in May last year and moved in together at the start of lockdown.
But in an industry where relationships move at whirlwind speed thanks to lucrative TV and glossy magazine deals, Sam has explained why he will buck the trend.
Speaking to MailOnline as part of his collaboration with Captain Morgan for their new drink Tiki, he said: ‘A lot of people, especially in this industry, they meet each other and then it’s marriage after a year. I just don’t believe in that.
‘We’re so young still, especially Zara she’s 23. There’s so much life to live. I don’t mean sh**ging around or anything like that, I mean to follow what you love and not have any restrictions around you.
‘I’m very wary of Zara’s age but also mine as well and not wanting to tie things down. We’ve got the rest of our lives to be boring and sit at home and be husband and wife.’
Honest: In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, the Made In Chelsea star, spoke about moving in together and feeling ‘petrified’ of doing things by other people’s timelines
Not in a rush: With his love life documented on Made In Chelsea, the reality star, 28, admitted to ‘feeling so much pressure’ from constant questions about when he will propose
‘We’ve got the rest of our lives to be boring and sit at home and be husband and wife.
Sam said he would rather accomplish as much as he can with his career before making the commitment to marriage – something Zara has made no secret of being keen to do on the most recent series of Made In Chelsea.
He explained: ‘I want her [Zara] to be able to explore her career and be able to find out what she wants to do without the constraints of being like “Oh, I’ve got to come back to my home with Sam”.
‘I’ll always be here. I’m not going anywhere. I don’t see her really going anywhere either and I think that’s what I want for the time-being.
Sam added: ‘A lot of people don’t agree with me. It’s so much pressure. People are constantly asking “When are you going to put a ring on it?”.
‘I love her and I want to be as careful and as cautious as possible because I don’t want to f**k it up.
‘I think a lot of people want the Hello! magazine deals, so strap on a ring within five seconds. That’s not how I want to do it.’
When the couple were faced with the prospect of spending lockdown apart, Sam made the decision for Zara to move into his south-west London home.
Still young: ‘We’ve got the rest of our lives to be boring and sit at home and be husband and wife’, Sam said (pictured on holiday last month)
He isolated with Zara and also his sister Louise and her fiancé Ryan Libbey, who live in the house next door.
‘I’ve never lived with a girl before. It’s a big step. I’m 28, I was 27 when lockdown started and I’m quite a late bloomer,’ he said.
‘I’m so petrified of doing things by other people’s timelines because I don’t think that’s the way it should be done and not being happy in myself that I’ve made those decisions.
‘But obviously when lockdown happened, we were forced to make the decision of is she going to live with me because I don’t want to not see her throughout lockdown.
‘So we did, it was honestly the best thing that happened. We argue and stuff. It’s been really, really easy. That’s such a nice thing to come out of a bad situation.’
Devoted: Zara recently threw Sam a lavish birthday bash with an extravagant cake
Sam said he is ‘really happy’ with Zara and thinks the couple will never go ‘through a tougher time’ than when they were spending 24 hours a day together in lockdown.
‘Lockdown is the hardest of the hard, you’re never going to have to go through spending 24/7 together again really. You don’t have things to talk about. I know exactly what you’ve done all day because I’ve done it with you.
‘I don’t think there’s ever going to be a tougher time with your other half than when you’re in lockdown.
‘I’m really happy with it. I’m the kind of guy to make that step, I need to be, not forced, but nudged in the right direction.
‘As much as I believe I don’t want to rush things, I also think because I’ve never done it before I needed that little push.’
To celebrate the release Captain Morgan’s new, tropical rum-based spirit drink Tiki, Sam set up a pop-up bar in Louise’s garden.
Sam said: ‘I’ve worked with Captain Morgan before I love working with brands who allow me to do what I want to do. They want to have fun and I love having fun with my Instagram stuff. I lived on it almost my entire life.
‘Louise doesn’t know about this, she’s probably going to get quite annoyed. We made a bar in her garden. She’s actually not here at the moment, I know she’s coming back at 2pm so I have a bit of a time limit. It’s going really well.
‘It’s synonymous with the brand, having fun with your mates.’
Sam was speaking on behalf of Captain Morgan Tiki, a delicious new rum-based spirit drink with flavours of mango and pineapple – now available in supermarkets nationwide, RRP £16.50.
Fun: To celebrate the release Captain Morgan’s new, tropical rum-based spirit drink Tiki, Sam set up a pop-up bar in Louise’s garden